1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to allocating resources to a group or a plurality of Mobile-to-Mobile (M2M) devices on an on-demand basis in wireless communication networks and in particular, relates to treating a group of devices as equivalent to one or more subscription to such services.
2. Description of the Related Art
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) devices are devices that use network resources to communicate with other remote devices. Examples of such devices include RFID tags, sensors, smart meters, health care devices, telemetry telematics, supply-chain devices, personal navigation devices, point-of-sales devices, digital signage, vending machines, and automobiles, all of which may need to occasionally or periodically communicate with a remote application or equipment. Such devices may be connected to a network either wirelessly or wired, and may also be connected to the Internet or one or more other networks. The need for such communication arises for a number of reasons, such as due to remote monitoring, management, software or firmware upgrades, reading storage, or updating storage in these devices. These devices are now being provided with the integral capability to communicate over wireless communication networks.
Typically, mobile operators or service providers charge users on a per-subscription or on a per line basis. A typical phone bill consists of charges accrued for each phone or line. The subscription charge or line charge is typically for using the network equipment for registration and the assignment of a phone number, IP address or a user account. Additional service charges are also included that reflect any service plan such as messaging, data, video, etc. Once activated, a device becomes operational and can continue to use the services until the time that the network operator or the subscriber decides to terminate the subscription. The fee structure or tariff for a subscriber that uses wireless communication networks assumes certain usage patterns typically associated with human beings using voice and data services. Hence, each device is considered to correspond to a subscription, with several devices belonging to a subscriber. The rate plans are designed with a specific revenue model based on ARPU (Average Revenue Per User).
M2M devices, similarly to mobile phones, use network resources to communicate with external entities. Many of these devices operate autonomously, or with to user interaction, to monitor, track, sense, or control the environment in which they are deployed. Typically, these devices communicate over a wireless network. The wireless network could be any communication network, for example, GSM, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, WiFi, etc., but is not limited to currently known wireless radio technologies. These networks provide radio base stations that are connected to the core network and the devices communicate over radio frequencies via the base stations.
In order for these devices to communicate over the network, the devices have to be registered with the network. The prior art allows subscriber registration to be mapped to a single device or toggled between devices. However, this technique is restrictive and inefficient. A need arises for a more flexible and efficient technology for allocating registrations and resources.